June 2023 Charity Donation

Earlier this year, we invited everyone across the Node4 Group to join us on an eight-week virtual step challenge, Stepping Together, with the aim of covering the 989 miles from John o’Groats to Land’s End in teams of six. The challenge was a fantastic opportunity for us to get to know some of our new colleagues, as well as encouraging us to step away from our desks and get moving.

With the challenge drawing to a close in May, the 168 participants managed to rack up an amazing total of over 77 million steps, with 20 of the 28 teams completing the end-to-end route. The top three winning teams with the highest total number of steps were given the opportunity to pick a charity to receive a donation from Tisski on their behalf.

Our winning team, who were close to completing the route twice, were the Red Hot Chilli Steppers, consisting of Maria Green, Rachel Nimmons, Amy Peters, Karen Pendlebury, Natasha Holmes and Iwona Simpson. The team chose Whispers of Hope to receive their £1,000 donation – an amazing charity that supports and protects victims of domestic abuse or sex trafficking. With help from their dedicated volunteers, partners and supporters, Whispers of Hope offers a range of support and a safe space to any affected women, many of whom have no recourse to public funds or are suffering from immigration issues.

In second place were Team 13 - Iqbal Shah, Anatoli Nizami, Chris Pagel, Alyson Cooling, Rich Yardy and Nina Lugor - who picked Teenage Cancer Trust as the worthy recipients of a £500 donation. Teenage Cancer Trust offers care and support to young people diagnosed with cancer. They fund specialised nurses, youth workers and NHS hospital units, so young people have dedicated staff and facilities throughout their treatment, as well as hosting events to help young people regain their independence and meet others going through similar situations. They also offer helpful information and advice to those with cancer, as well as their carers, relatives and friends.

Placing in third were Cirque du Sore Legs, comprised of Jonathan Bamford, Stephanie Ferguson, Debbie Dilly, Steven Campbell, Anna Overend and David Borg, who chose the Trussell Trust to receive the final £500 donation. The Trussell Trust support over 1,300 food banks in the UK, where together they provide nutritionally balanced emergency food to those who are facing crises, as well as offering support and advice to help lift them out of poverty. The charity is working towards its vision of ending the need for food banks in the UK, launching relevant strategic plans and campaigns, and calling on the UK government to make necessary changes to Universal Credit.

We’d like to thank everyone who took part in our Stepping Together challenge – we hope to do another one very soon! If you’d like to see some of the wonderful views the steppers enjoyed throughout the challenge, then take a look at our short YouTube video.